Love it!
Sometimes my dinners aren’t what was originally planned. The other night I was going to make the chicken and mushrooms in cream sauce that my kids all love, but while I was browning the chicken I remembered I’d used the last of the cream to make scones the day before. So, mid cooking I needed to change course. I had brown rice in my rice cooker. I had the mushrooms all cut. I’d pulled out a zucchini… so what direction should I go? I went Asian style stir-fry. I added sesame oil, fish sauce and soy sauce to the chicken once browned and set that aside. I cut up a small broccoli crown, remaining half a head of cabbage, and the kid’s carrot sticks left over from their snacks. My husband came home from work and helped by chopping garlic, grating fresh ginger and thawing/shelling edamame (soybeans). Boy, at the speed of light he can mince that garlic into tiny pieces— I couldn’t even imagine doing. I threw in some frozen red, yellow and green peppers. And voila, a delicious meal that was not what we planned, but was so healthy and delicious.
You can do this with whatever vegetables you have on hand that seem to go together. I purchased the Cascadian Farms organic frozen peppers and edamame because they are handy and also great in stir-fries. Not every vegetable freezes well, but some are fine and they actually retain their nutritional value plus you won’t worry about unwanted additives (the linings from cans or pesticides) this way.
Chicken, Mushroom, Vegetable Stir Fry
5-6 boneless chicken thighs (or 2 breasts), cut into 2 inch pieces
3 Tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 quart shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1/2 quart white mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger grated
1-2 carrots, chopped
1 small broccoli crown, cut into small pieces
1 organic zucchini, cut in half lengthwise then sliced
1/4-1/2 small cabbage head, chopped
handful organic edamame, shelled
handful organic peppers (multicolored), sliced
canola, sunflower or peanut oil
Brown chicken in 2 tsp oil over med-high heat. Add soy, fish sauce and sesame oil. Set aside. Add another 2 tsp oil and sauté mushrooms. Add garlic and ginger, stirring well for two minutes then add broccoli and carrots. Keep stirring for another two minutes then add zucchini, peppers, cabbage, edamame, chicken in soy mixture. Stir occasionally until vegetables are tender. Check seasoning and add more soy or sesame as needed.
Serve over brown rice or rice noodles.
My kids all loved this and ate their entire meal without fuss. Ok, well, my middle son saw it and said he wasn’t going to eat it and didn’t want it before my eldest and younger sons told him that it was delicious. It was. I was the lucky one who ate the leftovers (it was enough to feed all five of us with one remaining bowl for next day’s lunch). My middle son was the first one of the kids to finish.
It didn’t matter that it wasn’t what I planned. It was healthy, tasty, easy and the kids ate it.
My mind is wrapped up with the death of two children near me. One was the daughter of a wonderful bus driver that my eldest son had while in kindergarten. This bus driver is so friendly and will still beep to me if he sees me in the yard or out driving. He talked to all the parents and we would sometimes have to gently remind him to move on when we noticed the growing line of traffic behind the bus. His daughter was 25 and living near Boston. She crashed her car while talking on her cell phone. She had a lifetime ahead of her and a grieving family left behind.
The other child, was just 21 months old and lived in the town where I grew up. He was with his mother in their backyard, she turned her head for a moment and he was gone. They have a river right there so she jumped in searching for him but couldn’t find him. Rescuers found him, alive, down river 2 hours later but unfortunately he died hours later. So sad.
The heartache those families must be feeling right now, I can only imagine— but don’t want to. My mother’s own brother drowned when he was 9 and my grandmother never really got over it. She was buried next to him nearly forty years later. Yes, she lived her life and didn’t wallow on a daily basis, but she never forgot and never fully mended her broken heart.
It might sound preposterous but I write this blog to help in one little way in keeping our kids safe. Eating well and staying away from some types of food/food additives, might actually benefit kids over the long run. I try to pass on helpful information on what bad things to steer clear of and how to get kids to eat well so that they will grow up — and remain healthy. My little blog is not going to save anyone from catastrophes like the former stories, but it may help over time. I truly believe that it is possible to get children to eat well. It may not happen overnight if they’re picky and I’m not saying it’s always easy, but it is too important not to try.
I know that my parenting style isn’t perfect and I am in no means Supermom, but I love my children immensely and try to do my best. My heart goes out to those moms and dads who can no longer give their precious children a hug.
A way of sneaking in those pesky vegetables that some picky eaters refuse to eat on their own is to put them in soup. My kids are pretty good at eating most vegetables so I don’t need to puree the veggies but anyone with ultra picky kids can choose to do that. Even without pureeing it, since the vegetables get cooked in the broth they’ll get many of the nutrients even if they’re not eating the actual vegetable from the soup. And with all the wonderful organic stocks and broths readily available to buy, making soups can be fast and painless. It’s quick, easy, tasty and healthful— what more can you ask for? And, don’t have enough of something for a full meal or want to use up left-overs; soup is a great medium.
Here’s one soup I made in less than a half hour last night. I decided last minute to make it a dinner and movie night, but not with pizza. I had a little of this and that. I mixed vegetable and chicken broth to give it a rich flavor. I had some left over chicken breast (but not enough for much, so I thawed some tenders too). I decided to add some small meatballs (frozen, from IKEA— yes, Ikea, the furniture-in-box place) that made it into a sort of Italian Wedding Soup. I didn’t feel the need to add onions or celery since I used the prepared broths. The chicken is very tender not only because of the cut, but also since it’s poached in the broth.
Chicken, Kale, Bean and Meatball Soup
1 quart organic chicken broth
1 quart organic vegetable broth
4 chicken tenders, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
2-3 organic carrots, sliced
3/4 pound mini star-shaped pasta
1 can beans (pinto, cannellini, kidney)
2 tsp dried oregano
10-15 small meatballs
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
In a stock pot pour the two broths and bring to a low boil. Add kale, carrots and chicken. Stir and cook for 5 minutes before adding pasta, meatballs, oregano and beans. Cook 10 minutes then add cilantro and cook one more minute. Adjust seasoning (salt and pepper). 
My two eldest sons loved the soup and my youngest ate it but didn’t want the kale, even though he likes kale on its own. I didn’t push and just let him try to eat it without (a tough task!). I loved it too and both my eldest son and I had it for lunch today. 
Something about this time of year— it seems like I’m all about comfort food. Recently I came across the ultimate in comfort food— bacon and egg pie. I mean, really, it’s got bacon, need I say more? Oh wait, it’s also a pie. No, not a quiche, a pie. With two crusts. My mother sent me an online article about her friend, Alison Holst, a famous New Zealand chef who’s penned something like 100 cookbooks and is New Zealand’s version of Julia Child. She’s even got Julia’s stature, voice and also warmth. Alison visited here a few years back and she is just lovely. So this article was how she came to make bacon and egg pies and it gave her recipe.
Now, if you’ve lived in (or even visited) England or a former British colony, you may have learned to love meat pies, fish and chips, sausage rolls and other foods that most foodies would turn their noses up at. But me, I love them all. They are comfort food and bring back such wonderful memories. Like when I lived in Wellington I used to go to brunch at the Brooklyn Deli (named for the area of Wellington not New York) and luurved their bacon and egg pie. Reading about the article made me remember those days. And it made me want a bacon and egg pie, so I printed the recipe and brought it to the kitchen.
I couldn’t believe it took me so many years to make this. The crust was super easy to make in the food processor. I made the crust and put the potatoes on the stove (on med-low) then dashed off to pick up my eldest from his school’s Kindness Klub (where they help raise money for charities, help fill food pantries, or create gifts for soldiers, etc). When I returned I rolled out the dough (which was chilling in the fridge while I ran to the school), cooked the bacon, sautéed the leeks and finished assembling the pie. (Leeks are my addition.)
Alison Holst’s Bacon and Egg Pie
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 stick butter, chopped into pieces
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 cup cold milk
4-6 strips of lightly cooked bacon, chopped (nitrate and nitrite-free)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1-2 cups chopped cooked potatoes
6 large eggs
1 leek sliced, well rinsed and lightly sautéed (optional)
salt and pepper to taste (careful since bacon is salty)
Preheat oven to 390F. In food processor mix together the flour, baking powder, and cold butter until butter is at least pea-sized. Add vinegar to milk then drizzle both into top of processor while on. When it becomes one ball, stop and place in fridge to chill for 10 minutes. After, divide in two and roll out on well floured surface. 
Place bottom crust into pie plate. Spread with half to three quarters of the chopped bacon, peas, leeks and potato. Mix eggs in bowl with a fork until the yolks are broken, but the eggs look streaky. Pour about half the eggs over the mixture in the bowl, then add the remaining bacon, peas and potatoes, and dribble the rest of the egg over the top.
Moisten the edge of the pastry in the plate, then place the second pastry sheet on top of the filling, trimming the edges if necessary. Crimp the edges if you like. Make a slit in the top and brush the top with milk. Bake at 390F/200C for about 40 minutes.
Now, what really surprised me was my kids’ reactions. My eldest, of course, loved it. But my middle son said he hated it but still ate most of it. And my youngest refused to try it without coaxing and actually putting a tiny forkful to his mouth. He actually asked if he could just have his salad and skip the pie. Bacon. I reminded him that it was in there. Oh well, maybe you have to learn to like comfort foods or maybe what’s a comfort to you is poison to someone else. I even had some Wattie’s Tomato Sauce with mine (the NZ version of ketchup) like I was back at “varsity”. To me it’ll still remain a favorite. Now to tackle creating a mince pie— as long as I don’t start putting back the freshman fifteen.
Thanks!
Love to hear about others that are as passionate!
Planning meals so that you don’t waste is helpful. Also, look in your fridge/pantry before you shop so you can use what you’ve got to create a meal.
Understanding that good, healthy (esp. organic) food is more expensive than junk food but you get more bang for your buck— it’s more nutritional so you won’t need to eat as much to get what your body needs.
Also, making things like pastas, stir-frys and soups stretch the more expensive foods out.
Don’t buy small packages or pre-packaged foods— baby carrots, cut salad greens, etc as they’re more expensive because someone else was paid to do the prep. If you stop buying processed and prepared foods it will save so much over the long run.
I belong to a CSA so from May to mid-Oct I get a bin full of fresh organic vegetables, herbs and some fruits for $500. It’s a huge savings.
Buying frozen organic vegetables and fruits are another way to save. (I always use frozen fruit in my smoothies)
Good luck!
Sorry for the delay. I guess you’d like to know if you should pursue a career in food? That is up to you. If you find you’re passionate about food, you can always be a foodie and don’t need to make a living at it, but if you really think you’d like to pursue it as a job… go for it. BUT, realize that most careers in food (like being a chef) are poorly paying with long, hard hours. Only a lucky few make it big (like professional athletes or actors). But, you can still love what you do and hopefully live within your means.
One thing you can do is share your love of food with your friends and family. I’ve found that most loved ones are very appreciative of good cooking and love to visit when a great meal is guaranteed.
Best of luck with whatever you choose! V
I’ve loved the taste of Buffalo wings (spicy chicken wings originally from Buffalo, New York) since I was first introduced to them in the mid to late eighties by my older brother who went to university at RPI in Troy, NY. As they are usually too spicy for most young kids, mine hadn’t ever had them (they’ve had wings, just not Buffalo style). I don’t get out as often as pre-kids and wings are not something I make at home, but after reading a recipe for chicken cakes I got the idea for chicken burgers— and in particular Buffalo burgers. We had good friends coming over for dinner the perfect opportunity for creating my idea. I knew that the younger kids, especially my spice-sensitive middle son wouldn’t do well with them so I’d make plain chicken burgers as well. For sides I prepared roasted butternut squash, roasted potatoes and a garden salad. 
I like both dark and white meat of chicken and decided to use both to give it flavor and tenderness. I used around a pound of each and had enough to feed 10 people. By adding the sauce to the ground chicken before they’re cooked it gives that tangy-spicy taste in each bite.
Buffalo Chicken Burgers
Add butter to hot sauce and microwave on 20 seconds. Set aside. Mince the chicken in a food processor. 
Add other ingredients, reserving a Tbsp or so of hot sauce mix, and pulse until well mixed. (To make plain just add salt, pepper and olive oil). Take scoops of chicken meat and form into patties.
I used a griddle to cook the burgers, but you can grill them too. Cook until 165F. Just before removing from heat spread some hot sauce mixture to increase heat as desired. 
Serve with slice blue cheese and/or ranch dressing. I used Cambozola Blue (cross between Camembert and Gorgonzola) which is nice and creamy. The older boys had Buffalo burgers and preferred ranch dressing on them while the younger ones had plain chicken burgers with ranch, ketchup or just as is. (Garnish as desired).
For the butternut squash, just peel and chop into bite size pieces, coat with olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. 
Transfer to cookie sheet and cook in preheated oven starting at 450F for 10 minutes and finishing at 350F for 25 minutes. 
You can cook the potatoes at the same time on another rack.
Completing a well rounded and colorful meal— the garden salad had yellow peppers, carrots, cucumbers, celery and romaine lettuce.
We all loved our burgers. The 8 year olds were daring enough to try the spicier version and they loved them! As my wonderful friend noted the roasted vegetables helped transform what would normally be a summertime dinner into an autumn comfort meal. It satisfied my craving but in a healthier method.
